Prosecution lawyer Philip Henry said a man and woman were walking home in Belfast on February 9, 2016 when they were attacked by two assailants.

Belfast Crown Court heard that during the incident the man was assaulted and robbed by Fryers’s male accomplice.

The court was told that during the course of that attack, the female victim saw a woman approaching her from an alleyway.

“At first she thought that this woman was coming to help her,’’ said Mr Henry.

“In fact, she approached the injured party and assaulted her. She was punched and kicked and fell to the ground.”

Judge Geoffrey Miller QC heard the woman sustained an injury to the top of her head below her hairline and “bad bruising’’ to the left side of her leg. Neither injured party was willing to supply victim impact statements, added Mr Henry.

Defence barrister Declan Quinn said Fryers wished to apologise to both victims.

Mr Quinn said that Fryers had no previous criminal record and was “extremely concerned’’ about her future .

Describing the assault as a “nasty incident’’, the defence barrister said Fryers had “learned a valuable lesson’’. He urged the judge not to send her into immediate custody but instead “leave something hanging over her head”.

Judge Miller described the assault as a “disgraceful incident’’ and said the custody threshold had been passed.

The judge told Fryers that had she been convicted after trial, she would have been jailed for 10 months.